Chapter Text
Well, this was going swimmingly already, Jake thought to himself. Obviously, they needed to talk, but Bradley’s tone did not lend to the best outcome. Maybe it was the gruffness that threw Jake off. The look on his face, also, gave Jake pause.
“You. You love me?” Bradley stuttered out. Oh, fuck, yeah Jake had said that.
“Yeah. Bradley. I really do. I know that my actions have not exactly shown those feelings the most correctly. But yeah. I love you, Bradley Bradshaw,” Jake said, heart slamming in his chest and brain whirring around. He had come here with a plan. Maybe he should have let Bradley speak first, but he needed to get this off his chest. “What did you want to talk about?”
“Well, I wanted to talk about everything going on with us. But, god dammit Jake, how can I dredge up the past when you just said that to me?” Bradley looked almost lost. “I am not happy with what you have done and said to me. However, even after everything, I cannot help from seeing the other side of you. The side that cried when Coyote was in G-Lock. The side that obviously wanted to comfort me directly after when Pheonix and Bob went down.” Bradley paused for a second, almost as if to collect himself. “It is that side, not Hangman, that had me feeling warmth in my chest and butterflies in my stomach. I may not be to the level of love that you are yet. I just have not had the time to delve into those feelings. But, Jake, you must know that I have feelings for you too.”
“I… I guess I did not really think this far ahead. I, honestly, expected to come in here so I could have a private place to be rejected,” Jake mumbled. He truly had not. He thought he would come into the bunk room, tell Bradley he was in love with him, and at the very least have a nice private area to cry when Bradley inevitably turned him down. He looked up at Bradley now and realized his own stupidity. There looking down at him with eyes full of nothing but devotion and attention, was Bradley fucking Bradshaw. And Jake honestly had only one thing on his mind now. “May I kiss you?”
There was not a verbal answer. Instead, Bradley ducked down and pressed his lips to Jake’s. It was everything Jake had hoped for. There were no sparks flying or tingles in his lips. But, damn, his whole body felt warm. No. Not warm, hot and burning. The kiss was not overtly passionate or full of lust. However, it made Jake’s entire body and soul feel like he was in front of a roaring fire.
Pulling back, foreheads together, breath mingling, Jake had never felt so content. This is what he had missing out on his whole life. The ice in his chest had been thawed completely, leaving behind an ember of molten love. Sure, there were things they were going to have to work on. There were issues of the past that could not be dismissed without thorough discussion. But Jake was happy. Bradley had said he did not love him to the same extent just yet. However, that ‘yet’ gave Jake a burning hope that could not be tampered down.
Bradley was the first to speak. “You know you just lost Maverick a substantial amount of money.”
“What?” Jake barely scraped out, thrown from the moment he was in. Why were they talking about Maverick right now.
“Yeah, Ice bet him that this mission would finally push us together just like their first big mission together did to them. Mav is going to be both elated and pissed he was wrong.” Jake was so confused. Maverick and Iceman? And why was Bradley close enough to Admiral Kazansky to refer to him as Ice? “Looks like you are just going to have to come over for dinner at their house as soon as we get back on shore. No way am I allowing you to miss Mav throwing a tantrum over losing to his husband,” Bradley continued, like he had not just thrown Jake for the biggest loop ever. But how could he not accept? Bradley was grinning at him like he had just won a prize.
“Yeah, okay. Just tell me what time, Roo, and I will be sure to be there.” And he would be. He would not miss this for the world. He would do absolutely anything Bradley asked him from now on.